SXSW: Soul concert turns into Snoop rally

Soul music and rap shared the stage Saturday at Butler Park in a free South by Southwest concert to celebrate the documentary “Take Me to the River,” a tribute to the Hi Rhythm Section, which played on soul hits by Al Green, Ann Peebles and more. Variety calls the move a “joyful celebration,” but the live counterpart often was an uneasy mix.

On instrumentals, such as “Green Onions” with Booker T on organ, or backing classic soul singers like Otis Clay on “I’m Satisfied,” the band of veteran musicians was something to see and hear, music history come to life. A mid-show set by the North Mississippi Allstars (drummer Cody Dickinson is one of the movie’s producers) and harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite was raw fun, even if it pulled focus from Memphis. But it’s hard to say that the rappers transformed the songs they contributed to.

Frayser Boy of Three 6 Mafia had a nice rapport with 80-year-old R&B singer Bobby Rush early in the show. Al Kapone, a Memphis rapper who, like Three 6 Mafia, got a boost from the soundtrack to the 2005 movie “Hustle & Flow,” paid tribute to the Memphis scene with an original song that got by on good intentions. But a late appearance by Snoop Dogg, a familiar presence at SXSW this year, hijacked the show.

That’s not all Snoop’s fault. When he came out to perform “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” with William Bell, the audiences — which included lots of young fans who probably were camped out for a later performance by rapper Childlish Gambino — erupted, and smartphones filed the air. But it’s partly Snoop’s fault. He can’t help that he’s a bigger celebrity than anyone else on stage Saturday, but he reveled in the attention, leading the crowd in a “Snoop Dogg” chant after a big-band version of “Gin & Juice.”

If the point of mixing soul and rap in “Take Me to the River” was to introduce a younger audience to the surviving soul legends, that goal was only partially met on Saturday. While Snoop Dogg’s name was heard at least a dozen times, the band members — like guitarist Teenie Hodges, who’s clearly in poor health — were never introduced from the stage.

It’s hard to point fingers, though. Fans flock to the familiar like moths to a flame, even at South by Southwest. Hundreds of bands still travel to Austin hoping to be discovered, and some will be. The odd are long, though, because while they’re playing little bars on Sixth Street, established acts are filing up bigger venues.

At Stubb’s, Texas band Toadies played their 20-year-old debut album “Rubberneck” front to back live for the first time. Singer Vaden Todd Lewis, who was wearing jeans and and a button-down shirt, could have been one of the fortysomething fans who showed up to see his band, but he sounded as menacing as ever on the rock radio staple “Possum Kingdom.” And at Hype Hotel, a few hundred fans endured an awesomely loud sound system and a disorienting light show to hear synth-rock pioneer Gary Numan play his 35-year-old hit “Cars.”